bristle nose pleco in plant tank

[mrkho]

i hear that bristle nose plecos do a great job in a plant tank. ive seen them constanly eat and i was wondering if this was true, and if having a bristle nose pleco would benefit a plant tank

 

[Toirtis]

Certainly...an excellent part of the clean-up crew, and great at tidying up any stray algae...and they will not bother your plants...I have them in almost all my planted tanks.

 

[Jchillin]

I echo Toirtis' statement. I have several baby BN's in my planted tank and they are not only cute little things, they earn their keep.

 

[gheitman]

I have one as well in my 30 gallon tank. They are great for cleaning algae off of the glass. They are very well behaved fish and don't get extremely big. The only down side, and this is minor, is that you almost never see them during the day time IME. Mine almost always stays hidden under some plants or behind some driftwood until the lights go off.

 

[Lepomis]

I have 3 BN in one tank and 1 in another. They don't bother the plants at all. The trio tank they are very active and always out and about. I was surprised about active they were. The other tank the little guy stays hidden around a huge clump of java moss.

 

[Xzap]

What's the average size of a bristlenose? I know some plecs get up to 12" and more.

Thx,

Dave

 

[Purrbox]

Most Bristlenose Plecs max out around 5".

 

[Xzap]

Thanks purrbox

Dave

 

[bmg213]

Ive had mine for almost 2 years now, and it is only about 5" He has not grown at all since I got him home which leads me to believe he was an adult at purchase. I have read that the adults do get lazy and dont do such a good job at eating algae, so you are better off with the younger ones.

Overall though I do like him...he is very peaceful, fun to watch when he is out from his cave, and most importantly has never damaged any of my plants.

In addition to having some drift wood to supplement his diet, I give him algae tablets since he seems to have given up on the stuff already in the tank.